Written in 1965 by Love guitarist Bryan MacLean but not completed until the 1967 recording of the band’s third album “Forever Changes,” it’s inspired by the memory of waiting for a girlfriend with a melody based loosely on Prokofiev’s “Lieutenant Kije Suite.”
The contrast between the upbeat, Spanish backbone of the tune and the downbeat bleakness of the lyrics (the chorus: "And I will be alone again tonight, my dear") makes this a candidate for all time greatness, finishing with a lone acoustic guitar that closes the song with the opening melody but sounds anything but ecstatic, ending with an Emin plus 2 chord (the first time I had ever heard it used in a pop context). West coast psychedelia in excelsis deo. And trumpet solo! 🎺
Nov 27, 2024
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So many bangers on this album: Alone Again Or, A A House is Not a Motel, Maybe the People...
Feb 13, 2024
There’s an indescribable beauty to this song, ‘Alison’, by Slowdive. Oh, how I wish I could put into words how this song makes me feel. When I first stumbled upon it, and the whole Souvlaki album it belongs to, I was quite lonely. I had friends, but most of my friends had someone in their lives. Someone who was more important to them than me. I was nobody’s priority. That’s how it felt, at least. I was longing to be loved. To be cared for. And that is exactly what Neil Halstead’s vocals on this song bring forth, a feeling of longing, of desperation. He longs for someone so desperately, that he’ll do anything as long as he gets to be with her. He will do whatever it takes so as not to be alone anymore.
“Alison, I’ll drink your wine /
I’ll wear your clothes when we’re both high”
She’s like an addiction, and he is addicted to her and anything she’ll ask of him. At the time, I would have given anything to overcome the loneliness that overwhelmed my everyday life. A girl could give me the smallest amount of attention, and I would spiral into a rabbit hole of highly unlikely fantasies. Even if I knew they weren’t at all right for me, I made up scenarios in my mind of what it would be like to be with them. For a moment, I would actually feel less lonely.
““Alison”, I said, “We’re sinking” /
There’s nothing here but that’s okay”
As a soaring guitar fades in and the chorus takes off, I daydream about what could, but probably never will be, and never should. I’m not ready. I have to wait. She has to be somewhere. Softly, carefully, I can already hear her, through Rachel Goswell’s gorgeous echoing vocals, somewhere in space. I just have to wait.
“I guess she’s out there somewhere…”
She was.
Jul 19, 2024
Sexy, heartbreaking, lonely 70s guitar music.
highly recommend listening to it while walking around in the cold or staring aimlessly into space 👍
Mar 15, 2024
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Hey tyler hopefully this doesn’t violate some PI.FYI golden rule
But after nearly two years of writing, editing and arguing, my book about the EP is coming out in May and can be preordered here:
https://hozacrecords.com/product/aifl/
The book is about the origins, history and cultural impact of the EP since these little objects first started coming out in the 50s.
Over 50 of my music biz friends then helped me shape the list and review the top 200 ever released, according to us (ha).
For those of you who are into this kind of geekery/snobbery, I can’t wait to hear what you think. A labor of love, as all books are! ❤️
Mar 27, 2024
“Songs Of a Lost World” coming to a goth listening station near you Nov 1 🖤
The fr FW Me Friday the 13th the world was looking for
Sep 14, 2024
I will fail to explain just how much this band meant to me in the 90s.
So I will borrow from AV Club who did a fine job of distilling it:
“Unwound is the best band of the ’90s. Not just because of how prolific, consistent, and uncompromising it was, but because of how perfectly Unwound nested in a unique space between some of the most vital forms of music that decade: punk, post-rock, indie rock, post-hardcore, slow-core, and experimental noise. That jumble of subgenres doesn’t say much; in fact, it falls far short of what Unwound truly synthesized and stood for. Unwound stood for Unwound. But in a decade where most bands were either stridently earnest or stridently ironic, Unwound wasn’t stridently anything. It was only itself. In one sense Unwound was the quietest band of the ’90s, skulking around like a nerdy terror cell. In another sense it was the loudest, sculpting raw noise into contorted visions of inner turmoil and frustration.”
R.I.P. Vern Rumsey.
This is their finest song, from their finest album.
I really can’t say enough about the sheer bloody minded genius of this group. 🖤
Mar 23, 2024